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This is a blog by Mike Legeros. To start your own discussions, try The Watch Desk. New to blogs? Read these Rules of the Road

Last Comments

AB (Longest Lays?): the last long (more than 1 truck) lay I remember …
Legeros (East Wake Volunte…): Negative. The aforementioned mentioned East Wake …
NcFFF (East Wake Volunte…): Is this the station we now call Eastern Wake Fire…
Historic Preserva… (Lightner Public S…): Construction of a tower on that site (needed for …
Historian (Lightner Public S…): Wonder if they still have the plans for the conso…
Build it (Lightner Public S…): Build it now or paymore later.!!!
Silver (Ready, Set, Snow): Pretty obvious, but some forget; don’t “retract” …
A.C. Rich (Ready, Set, Snow): Rob – Your set is probably adjusted wrong. The o…
Silver (Ready, Set, Snow): Cap’,check out www.onspot.com,, go to vide…
Rob Mitchell (Ready, Set, Snow): The on spot chains on Engine 12 did not seem to w…
T Henshaw (Second Annual Rek…): Thanks for getting our flyer up so quick. I hope …
Legeros (Vance County Fire…): Negative, it apparently ceased publication in the…
Legeros (Southeastern Fire…): And found another set of dates for 1988, Southeas…
AP (Vance County Fire…): Hey Mike, I see you reference Hose & Nozzle often…
KOM (Vance County Fire…): Talk about water supply being an issue.
lee (Vance County Fire…): Cool!!
gen3fire (Hillsborough Stre…): “The key to success is often the ability to chang…
A.C. Rich (Hillsborough Stre…): Hey, change is not bad and it actually helps us d…
A.C. Rich (Wake Forest Patch…): I know… I promised one several months ago… My bad…
Legeros (The Mangel Fire, …): Yes! Look to the bottom left and you’ll see the …
A.C. Rich (The Mangel Fire, …): He was only about 8’-10’ off the ground in the ph…
A.C. Rich (Ready, Set, Snow): Good tool for the snow we see here. Better than …
C-shifter (Mystery Shovelers…): Station 16 A-shift
gen3fire (Ready, Set, Snow): On-spot chains did fine when used on E-20 yesterd…
Legeros (Wake County EMS -…): Veteran Wake EMS member David Keith passes along …
Silver (Ready, Set, Snow): At Engine 2 for 12 hours today. The on-spot syste…
Legeros (Ready, Set, Snow): But does the accuracy of your statement match the…
jim bo (Ready, Set, Snow): Seems like dem der metal chains will work in up t…
Mike (Ready, Set, Snow): Seeing as how we didn’t really get above 6”, how …
Leave it alone (Ready, Set, Snow): Or, perhaps, people should leave well enough alon…
Legeros (Wanted: Delivery …): From a reader, a pair of Atlas pumpers are for sa…
Legeros (Ready, Set, Snow): (This blog is as much about language and communic…
Legeros (Ready, Set, Snow): The following two statements are both correct: …
Not to be picky, … (Ready, Set, Snow): On-spot chains are recommended for snow depths of…
EngineDriver (Ready, Set, Snow): The On-Spot chains will work until snow depths ge…
Silver (Ready, Set, Snow): Newer pieces have them, but not all.
BFD (Ready, Set, Snow): Raleigh doesn’t run the auto chain system?
Hmmmmm (Lightner Public S…): Back to the Public Safety Center, this week’s Ind…
Coverage (This Evening's Fi…): Based on CAD it was not, I guess dispatch never c…
Legeros (Lightner Public S…): You can start your own thread over on the Watch D…
WWFD (Lightner Public S…): Mike, can you open a blog about the reedy creek r…
Jakey (Lightner Public S…): No more speculating, 1st hand info per page 56 of…
Hmmmmm (Lightner Public S…): Well, that’s why we’re here! To speculate on seco…
Jakey (Lightner Public S…): Hmmmmmmmmm – I said the the same thing when I he…
Hmmmmm (Lightner Public S…): $16M for software seems awfully high. $1.6M is ea…
Jakey (Lightner Public S…): Some my have taken my previous comment wrong or t…
blfire (This Evening's Fi…): bl122 was there,2nd in, we all were at bl1 for tr…
Coverage (This Evening's Fi…): The only truck that made it out of station 3 was …
Duda (Tiller For Sale): That’s really sad. I’m glad the crew is ok and i…
Buckwheat (This Evening's Fi…): Hey Coverage,where was Bayleaf station 3 units du…
Silver (Lightner Public S…): Last time I checked, we’re all still getting rais…
Marcus (Lightner Public S…): I think it will be cool to be able to see the eng…
Legeros (Lightner Public S…): RescueRanger? DC? Jakey? Look, this isn’t Faceboo…
Jakey (Lightner Public S…): Rescue Ranger – I heard our (and all other city e…
Legeros (Lightner Public S…): Regarding expansion space, placing the ECC at the…
DC (Lightner Public S…): RescueRanger, huh??
ECC (Wake Forest Patch…): Can anyone from Bayleaf or Stony Hill donate a pa…
Silver (Zebulon's Ladder …): Sniff…sniff….(wiping a single tear).
"Mr. R" (Hillsborough Stre…): First of all I am not the official spokesperson f…
Silver (Hillsborough Stre…): By the way, we are “trying once again”? This comm…
+ 5 - 6 | § Fire Commission Work Session, Thursday, 3/6

The Wake County Fire Commission has scheduled a second work session for Thursday, March 6, at 6:30 PM, at the Wake EMS Training Facility, located in the lower level of the Wake County Commons Building at 4011 Carya Drive. The purpose of the work session is for the Fire Commission to prioritize elements of the Staffing and Facility components of the Long Range Business Plan. The latter was unanimously approved at the last work session on February 21, 2008.

+ 4 - 8 | § Emergency Fashion

From a reader, here's a Hawaiian-style shirt with firefighter icons. Same is sold at Fireswap.com. Flashy, but could be a bit brighter...

+ 5 - 6 | § Last Call for Telecommunicators and Call Takers

The Raleigh-Wake County Emergency Communications Center is accepting applications through the end of this week for call takers and telecommunicators. They anticipate starting their next academy in May. For more information, see the city's employment web site.

+ 4 - 7 | § Loss-Less JPEG Rotation

Every time you save a JPEG image, such as a digital photograph, the quality is reduced. Depending upon the settings of the software that is re-saving the file, the reduction of quality can be minimal or worse. JPEG photos that are portrait-oriented, are often stored in cameras in landscape-orientation. The person taking picture just re-oriented the camera. But the images have to be rotated when shared or printed, lest the viewer think the photographer is a pain in the neck. One useful tool for rotating JPEG images is the viewer InfranView. It has a plug-in that performs loss-less rotation of JPEG images. Meaning, they are re-saved but without any loss of quality. Highly recommended application.

+ 6 - 5 | § Lacking a Natural or Usual Covering (as of Hair, Vegetation, or Nap)

Raleigh Fire Department members go under the clippers on Saturday, March 1, at 2:00 p.m., at Hibernian Restaurant & Pub at 311 Glenwood Avenue. They are raising money for the St. Baldrick's Foundation. More information about the soon-to-shorn is available hair. You can also contribute online. Funds, that is, not locks.

+ 6 - 5 | § One Tanker, Foamed

Here's a picture from WRAL of that gas tanker in Johnston County that overturned. Chad Flowers snapped same. They flip one out there, what, every four months? Every eight?

+ 5 - 6 | § Yearbook Update

Raleigh Fire Department 2007: 95 Years of Tradition is nearly ready to send to the publisher. Last-minute orders can still be submitted online at www.mtpublishing.com. Look under Products, and Coming Soon. The hardcover book will number 160 pages. It will be sized 9 by 12 inches, and with all color pages. The yearbook is priced at $50, though that will increase in a couple weeks. READ MORE

+ 5 - 5 | § Face Lift for Ladder 112

Also noted by Lee in his photos from the shop, Ladder 112 is sporting a new look. The 1990 Spartan/LTI was damaged in April. Click to enlarge either of Lee's photos below:



+ 6 - 4 | § Raleigh Receives New Engine

This 2008 Pierce Enforcer was delivered on Monday. Equipped with a 1500 GPM pump, a 500 gallon water tank, and 20 gallon foam cell, it's the replacement for Engine 9. Their old engine is planned for Engine 21, whose old engine will go into reserve. See more photos from Lee.

+ 5 - 4 | § NIMS and ICS: From Compliance to Competence

SSP part 2. This month's issue of EMS Magazine features a feature from Wake County EMS Chief Skip Kirkwood. The topic is incident comment, and includes a summary of the nursing home evacuation in Fuquay-Varina on September 14, 2007. Good stuff, and with a few familiar photos.

+ 4 - 5 | § February FireWatch

SSP part 1. The February edition of FireWatch has been posted to the CTV site. The community television show is produced by the Raleigh Fire Department. This month's edition features an interview with RFD historian Mike Legeros, on the subject of the department's past line-of-duty deaths.

+ 2 - 6 | § Sunset for Analog Cellular

As this media release notes, cellular telephone companies will no longer be required to provide analog service as of midnight on February 18, 2008. Presumably, this ends the ability of old phones to dial 911. That was a great trick. Keep a deactivated phone around, and you could dial 911 from practically anywhere. Guess we'll have stick with our old CB radios and channel 9.

+ 6 - 5 | § Fact, Fiction, Bad Men, Internet

The Internet is a scary place, right? The boss reads your e-mail, your credit card number has already been stolen, and online predators are targeting your children. Right? A new study debunks the last item, according to researchers who study the nature of such Internet-initiated crimes. The complete paper is also available. Such findings compel the question: what other social aspects of the Internet do we exaggerate, or grossly exaggerate? And, conversely, what do we under-estimate? Regarding the latter, the impact of e-mail and messaging comes immediately to mind, and in the context of concentration in the workplace. Or at home. Or in mobile settings, with wireless. More later, and maybe some best practices.

+ 6 - 3 | § Clayton Fire Department Open House on Sunday at Station 2

The Clayton Fire Department is conducting an open house at Station 2 on Sunday, February 24, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. They recently completed an addition to the facility, adding living quarters for a full-time crew. The station is located at 800 Highway 42 East.

+ 3 - 5 | § The History of the Chapel Hill Fire Department

The Chapel Hill Fire Department has put some of their history online, including a nifty interactive time line. Click to view the site:

+ 6 - 4 | § The Sky is Falling

FEMA has issued information regarding that rogue satellite that the military's trying to shoot down. Here's their space object responder guide. Here's their memo to responders. Here's their concept of operations. Needless to say, the odds of same striking here are, well, astronomically low.

+ 5 - 4 | § History Presentation, Sunday, March 9

Raleigh Fire Department Historian Mike Legeros will be speaking at Olivia Raney Local History Library on Sunday, March 9, at 2:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Wake County Historical Society, the 45-minute presentation on the history of the Raleigh Fire Department is free and open to the public. The library is located at 4016 Carya Drive, near the intersection of Poole Road and the Beltline.

+ 4 - 6 | § May You Live in Interesting Times

Let's recap the last couple days of activity in Raleigh, with data as observed by Mike and Lee, and from media reports. We'll start with Saturday morning's house fire. The address was 704 Princeton Street. The structure was a single-story, brick-and-frame, 1,414 square-foot single-family dwelling built in 1968. Alarm time about 3:35 p.m. Car 20 was first on scene and reported fire through the roof, and one subject reported trapped inside. READ MORE

+ 7 - 5 | § AVL in Action

As seen on the big board at the communications center, with proportions corrected from widescreen monitor mode, here's what the real-time view of Wake County EMS units looks like. Click to enlarge. Then, indulge this blogger's favorite "big board" quote, from Stanley Kubrick's great comedy from 1964. "I... I... I don't exactly how to put this sir, are you aware of what a serious breach of security that would be!? I mean, he'll see everything! He'll see the big board!" George C. Scott to Peter Sellars, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

+ 4 - 6 | § Boom!

This looks like the best image of last night's explosives demolition, from the WRAL story. See these daytime photos from Lee, long before the big booms started happening.

+ 4 - 6 | § Cary Fire Department News

The Cary Fire Department reports the following news. New Scott AP-75 air packs have been purchased for the entire department. The department bought 124 air packs, enough for both operations and training. The main reason for the upgrade was the number of older air packs that were reaching the end of their service life. Personnel are being training on the new air packs, which are expected to be placed in service in the beginning of March. READ MORE

+ 7 - 2 | § Very Dry, Very Windy

Weather.com says 62 degrees and 19% humidity, with winds from the west at 20 mph, gusting to 32 mph. One big brush fire in Johnston County so far, plus trees and wires starting to fall down around. The Weather Service has also issued these watches and warnings for Wake County:

+ 3 - 7 | § This Evening's Fire

Apartment fire at 7013 Woodbend Drive. Two-story, wood-frame, 10,672 square-foot apartment building. Engine 4 on scene with a major working fire. Battalion 1 in command. Ladder 16 and Ladder 11 positioned, but not needed. Interior attack contains and controls. Alarm time about 9:55 p.m. Units included E4, E9, E15, E19, E11, E18, L16, L11, R19, R14, B1, B4, C5, A8, C20, C2, EMS 16, EMS D1, EMS T1. See preliminary photos.

+ 3 - 8 | § Checking For Overused Words

Blogging about fires, fire departments, fire history, fire photography, and some times other stuff. Such as writing. Here's a great Word tip. Use this to count the number of times you've used a particular word in a document. It's a great way to check for overuse.

1. In Word 2007, click Find in the ribbon. In Word 2003, click Edit > Replace.
2. In the Find What field, enter the word you want to check
3. In the Replace With field, enter the characters ^&.
4. Click Replace All.
5. The number of instances of the word is displayed. No words are replaced, as Word ignores those two special characters.
6. And if you don't believe that no words are replaced after step #5, click Edit > Undo from the main menu.

+ 6 - 4 | § Chief Lane Passes Away

Retired Assistant Chief Roy Kenneth Lane passed away Thursday, February 8. He was a 32-year veteran of the Raleigh Fire Department when he retired in 1997. Visitation will be at L. Harold Poole Funeral Home in Knightdale on Sunday night, February 10, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The funeral will be Monday, February 11, at 1:00 p.m. at Wakefield Baptist Church, 13029 Falls of the Neuse Road, with burial at Raleigh Memorial Park at 7501 Glenwood Avenue.

+ 2 - 6 | § Morrisville's New Ladder

The Morrisville Fire Department recently took a trip to inspect their coming KME platform ladder. It's due in a few more weeks. Their old ladder's been sold, thus the reason Parkwood's ladder's at their station at present. How many ladders does that make in Wake these days? Let's see. Raleigh has 7, plus three reserves. Cary has 3, with a fourth almost here. Apex has 2. Bay Leaf has 1. Fuquay-Varina has 1. Garner has 1. Holly Springs has 1. Knightdale has 1, albeit a Squrt. Morrisville has 1. Wake Forest has 1. Wendell has 1. Zebulon has 1.

+ 3 - 8 | § Old Rescue Squads

It's history week here at Blog Center. Look at these classic rigs as operated by Clayton Rescue Squad back in the day. Clayton Area EMS Asst. Chief Jason Thompson continues to uncover old photos. They and some others will be posted later.

+ 4 - 4 | § More Golden Oldies

Here's another a great picture that recently surfaced, showing driver training at the Fairgrounds in the 1970s. This is the first color photo seen of one of the city's American LaFrance 700 Series pumpers. Raleigh had four of them, two in 1951 and two in 1953. They were delivered by rail, as the story goes. This particular pumper is lettered C, which was the designation for reserve engines. It is probably a 1951 model, and would have served as Engine 3, Engine 8, and Engine 14. See more of these photos, but don't cut yourself on those sharp hairstyles.

+ 5 - 5 | § Fire Commission Work Session, Thursday, 2/21

The Wake County Fire Commission has scheduled a work session for Thursday, February 21, at 6:30 PM, at the Wake EMS Training Facility, located in the lower level of the Wake County Commons Building at 4011 Carya Drive. Note the earlier time than regularly scheduled meetings. The purpose of the work session is for the Fire Commission to continue discussion and work on the long-range business plan.

+ 4 - 6 | § Old Bridges

Let's divert exclusively into local history. Lee recently found this photo of the old Boylan Heights bridge. Built in 1913, the Warren Truss bridge was demolished in 1982. It was a registered as a national landmark, and its dilemma surrounding its status at the time led to the creation of the Boylan Heights Neighborhood Association. What's equally interesting about this undated photograph is that same shows a second bridge, that extended Martin Street from West Street to Kinsey Street. You can see still where the road ended, atop Kinsey and looking east.

+ 5 - 2 | § WakeMed in the Morning

While killing time on New Bern Avenue yesterday morning, this composition exercise presented itself. Objective #1: Shoot Air Mobile 1, lighted by the sun peeking over WakeMed. Objective #2: Shoot from the public sidewalk, versus the hospital grounds. Perhaps with a stepladder, this would have looked better. But it was a fun, fleeting exercise.

+ 4 - 3 | § This Evening's Fire

Two alarms at 3211 Shoreview Road. Two-and-a-half story, wood-frame apartments with 13,358 square-feet. Alarm time just after 6:00 p.m. Engine 18 first on scene. Battalion 4 initial command. WRAL reports at least 10 units damaged. NBC17 reports four firefighters were briefly trapped, but escaped unharmed. Listen to the radio traffic. Photos from Lee forthcoming:

+ 6 - 5 | § Surry County Plane Crash

WXII12 has a slide show of surprisingly up close images from today's plane crash outside Mount Airy. They've also got the 911 calls on audio. Other photos and incident details are available at the Mount Airy News, including the image below: